E. Coli Strain Found In Beef From Illinois

Recall Issued

Processor Says Most Of Meat Probably Eaten

A western Illinois meat processing plant announced Wednesday the nationwide recall of more than 280,000 pounds of ground beef after tests found samples contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

A potentially deadly strain of the bacteria was found in ground beef produced at IBP Inc.'s Joslin plant, near the Quad Cities, during a routine test by federal inspectors this month.

Fifty retail and food service customers in 21 states--including Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana-- bought ground beef from the plant, said Gary Michaelson, spokesman for IBP, the nation's largest meat processor based in Dakota City, Neb.

In the Chicago area, officials for some of the largest chains-- including Dominick's Supermarkets, Jewel Food Stores and McDonald's--said they did not buy ground beef from IBP.

Michaelson said it was believed that most of the ground beef, produced April 14, already may have been consumed. He declined to identify the stores that bought the beef, saying only that they had been notified.

"We're working diligently with our retail and food service customers to retrieve any product that's not already been consumed," he said.

The fresh meat is typically further processed by grocers or restaurants after it leaves the IBP plant, making it difficult for consumers to identify the meat, Michaelson said.

"We're considering the recall nationwide," said Jacque Knight, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Safety and Inspection Service. "It's that extensive."

The USDA notified IBP officials of its results on Tuesday, about two weeks after samples were taken from the Joslin plant and tested for the bacteria.

No illnesses have been reported, but health departments in all 50 states have been alerted, Knight said. Consumers are being reminded to handle meat properly and cook hamburger beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees, she said.

E. coli, which is much more infectious than salmonella, can cause bloody diarrhea, kidney failure and blood clots or no symptoms at all, experts say.

The microbe can get into food during slaughter when contents of animal intestines get into the meat, or if manure is used as fertilizer and is not washed off fruits and vegetables.

Last fall, BeefAmerica Operating Co., based in Omaha, recalled more than 600,000 pounds of beef during two separate incidents because of possible E. coli contamination. In August, Hudson Food Co. in Columbus, Neb., recalled a record 25 million pounds of hamburger after several people became sick.

"As a company and industry we continue to aggressively look for ways to prevent this from happening," Michaelson said.